


Honeysuckle Dew

by sayoko



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, BECAUSE HE'S A FAE NOW, Based on a Tumblr Post, Chrollo is still a thief, Oh also!, Other, Well - Freeform, a spirit, no nen, non-binary Illumi, or a nymph, yes I know this is a ride
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-27
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-08-17 14:28:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8147435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sayoko/pseuds/sayoko
Summary: Just a humble fic inspired on this AU by donut-dunkniverse. Basically, it all happens in the Middle Ages. Chrollo is a thief who has had to strive to survive his whole life. He doesn't believe in any kind of magic of supernatural force. For him, fearing or worshiping something you can't prove is there is silly, to say it kindly. Then, there's Illumi. Illumi is a spirit of nature, part of the "Fair Folk" and Guardian of the forest of Hiddenwell. For them, trespassing fae territory is a deadly offense, so when Chrollo goes there it is clear what they must do... :^) but of course, knowing what one must do is one thing, actually getting it done is another.





	1. Gone hunting

**Author's Note:**

> * i mean it, this is something really simple and humble and for fun  
> * fay lore is actually a lot more complex than what will appear here, but i'll try to keep it simple ;u; because i don't need more suffering in my life rn  
> * i'll be using "they" pronouns for illumi c: in case you hadn't noticed already  
> * also @ everyone please feed the illukuro tags we are starving k thanks :')  
> * that's all, have fun!

The door of the tavern opened abruptly, and a man came in. His clothes were torn and covered in mud, and the skin of his face and hands was full of scratches. He staggered to the closest table and sat down, almost collapsing on his chair. Some of the people inside recognized the weary traveller and ran to his side. Soon, a group had gathered around his table.

When Chrollo noticed the small group that had formed, he joined them to see what was happening.

“It was monstrous! A creature so inhuman it looked like it had just crawled up from Hell!” The man said with a shaky voice. “I was lucky it got my horse and not me! You should’ve seen its claws…”

Chrollo couldn’t help rolling his eyes. He loathed this kind of stories. Some of them were entertaining, but at the end of the day they were all false. Chrollo had no doubts that there was no such thing as “magical creatures”. Ghosts, nature spirits, fair folk, he had never seen one, not even once in his entire life, and none of the villagers who claimed being victims of them were able to provide proof.

The most unbelievable thing, however, was how everyone else seemed willing to believe the man’s story. All around the tavern people were listening, muttering, afraid. “A friend lost her husband there”, someone said, “a friend’s nephew went there and never came back”, said another “it’s the fair folk, that forest is theirs, it’s forbidden to enter”.

It was ridiculous. Chrollo went back to his seat by the bar and handed his mug to the taverner.

“So, what happened to him?” Shalnark asked while he refilled the wooden mug.

“A monster,” Chrollo sneered.

“A monster?”

“Yes, apparently something big and clawy attacked him while he was hunting and, instead of being rational, he assumed it was some magical beast, panicked and ran away. The idiot ran all the way from Hiddenwell to here.”

“Wait, what did you just say?”

“That he ran, the chicken ran all the way to this tavern.”

“No, no, where did you say he was attacked?”

The seriousness in Shalnark’s tone made Chrollo roll his eyes again. For a moment, he had forgotten that, despite being one of the most intelligent people Chrollo had ever known, Shalnark was also very superstitious.

“Hiddenwell, the Hiddenwell woods,” he said finally, well aware that those woods did have a reputation and that Shalnark was going to defend it.

“Well, there _is_ something in those woods,” the blonde said, just as predicted.

“Of course! Animals! Animals and trees, that’s all there is.”

A huge, brawny man with grey spiky hair walked sat beside Chrollo. “What are you talking about?”

“The Hiddenwell forest,” Shalnark answered as he served him a drink.

“Oh! The enchanted one?”

Chrollo let his head fall and held it with both hands. He had also forgotten that Uvogin believed in those things too. Not because he was superstitious by nature, but because he held Shalnark in such high regard, that if the man said that the Earth was round he would probably believe it and spread the word.

The thief kept drinking his beer, trying to keep his ears away from the conversation. Shalnark could go on and on, re-telling the stories that he had overheard from his customers, and Uvogin would listen quietly, as long as Shalnark kept refilling his cup. This time, however, Chrollo decided he had had enough.

“I’m going to prove you wrong,” he said suddenly, in a tone so resolute that it made his friends become silent. “I’m going to ride to that forest and I will hunt that fearsome beast everyone is so afraid of. I will bring it here, and you will have to admit that there is no such thing as forest spirits. And!,” he added before any of the two could interrupt. “You’ll pay for my drinks. Continuously. For a year.”

“Are you drunk?” Shalnark asked.

“Yeah,” Uvogin continued. “Shalnark may work here but you know I don’t have any money. How am I going to pay for your drinks?”

“That’s not the problem, Uvo,” Shalnark sighed.

But Chrollo was not really listening to his friends anymore. Maybe he was a bit drunk and maybe he was being impulsive, but the idea of debunking the existence of supernatural beings excited him, and soon he was finishing his fifth mug of ale and going behind the bar to get his coat and bag from where Shalnark would hide them for him.

“Also, what will happen if you lose?” Uvogin kept asking. “You won’t be able to pay for our drinks, you’ll be dead!”

“UVO! Don’t joke with that!” Shalnark said, then turned to Chrollo again. “I- I can’t go with you; I can’t leave the tavern alone.”

“Me neither. I mean, I can, but I don’t want to go that far to hunt fairies.”

“Fine! I wasn’t asking you to come along anyway. I can hunt very well on my own. I don’t need you, any of you.” Chrollo replied. He was still behind the bar, checking for whatever thing he could use on his sudden quest. “…I will need a horse, though.”

“Are you going now? Right now?”

“There’s a good one outside, tied to the post to the right,” Uvogin suggested.

“Thank you!”

“What? No!” Shalnark said as he unsuccessfully tried to stop Chrollo from taking fruits from the basket reserved for important customers. “You can’t leave now! That place is hours away, by the time you get there it will be dark.”

“Good! That’s when all the creepy things come out, isn’t it?”

“That’s not good!”

Uvogin laughed and gave a friendly slap on the back of Shalnark, which was strong enough to make him lose his breath and therefore stop yelling. “Farewell! Good luck! Don’t get eaten!” He said to Chrollo before he left the tavern.

 

The stolen horse was marvellous. It was so fast that the thief was able to reach Hiddenwell in just a couple of hours, leaving him some time of daylight. Once within the forest, however, he realized this didn’t make much difference. It was hard to tell what time it was in such gloom. The trees were old and tall, and only a few streaks of light could pass through their thick foliage. Dense bushes and plants with leaves big enough to use as bed covers had taken over the ground to the point where Chrollo had to dismount his horse and continue by foot, clearing his way with a knife he always carried with him.

Even though Chrollo was certain the forest was not haunted, he couldn’t deny that the silence that reigned was eerie. A land as undisturbed as Hiddenwell had to be brimming with fauna, but so far he had only seen a few birds and the occasional rabbit. Still, Chrollo did not let himself falter. Big wild animals tended to be nocturnal. He would probably have more luck once night fell.

Before the forest became too dark to distinguish the tree trunks he had marked from the ones with no marks, Chrollo looked for a place to settle down. He chose an oak tree with a hollow trunk, the space wide enough for him to fit and hide, and tied his horse to another tree nearby. Around them, he placed a line of rope and tied bronze pieces of cutlery to it (all unwitting courtesy of Shalnark). He arranged them in a circle around them, so that if anything crossed it, the cutlery would make noise and alert him. After getting that set, he retired to his hiding place.

Sometime later, while Chrollo was slicing an apple with his knife, he realized there was something he had overlooked in his ale-fuelled excitement. _Just how big is this beast?_ None of the villagers’ stories provided a clear description of the animal. If it was as big as his horse, it may not be able to carry it back to the tavern. Same applied if the beast managed to hurt the horse before he could kill it.

“I should have brought Uvo…” He muttered to himself and sighed. Hopefully the beast wouldn’t be bigger than himself.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Up above from Chrollo and his horse, the air was filled with the buzz of countless voices whispering.

“What is happening?”

“What are they waiting for?”

“Guardian? What’s the matter?”

“Are you not going to kill him?”

Spirits from all shapes and sizes were pending on their Guardian’s next movement. Trespassing was forbidden, and they were used to seeing their Guardian make the offenders pay with their lives. However, the human hidden inside the oak tree was still breathing. He had been wandering about all afternoon, and was still breathing! Curiously, and careful to remain invisible to the human eye, the fay people gathered around the tree, making a circle of their own.

Perched on a branch with a direct view of the hollow oak tree, the Guardian of Hiddenwell observed the human in silence. They had been following him the whole afternoon, subtly leading him deeper into the woods. Illumi was ready to kill him once the night fell, but now they were hesitating. This human was not acting like the typical irreverent hunter. Sure, Illumi had tried to keep most animals away from him that day, but a few had escaped him. The hunter should have been able to catch them without problem, but he hadn’t. Furthermore, the trap he had set was useless, since it had nothing that could retain or hurt unsuspecting critters. The human was not a regular hunter; he had to had a especial mission.

“Guardian? Guardian? Are you not going to do anything? Is this human free? Can we eat him?”

Illumi quickly turned to the fay that dared to ask such a question and petrified them with their glare.

“You are not to hurt, talk, or show yourselves to this one,” Illumi said in a cold tone that echoed through the fae-infested branches. “I will deal with him in the morning, so fly away. There’s nothing for you to see here.”

Slowly, the whiny spirits started to scatter, for the guardian of their forest was powerful, and their orders were to be obeyed.


	2. Fight-Flight-Freeze

Chrollo woke up to the sound of a frightened neigh. He quickly jumped out of his hiding spot, ready to dig his dagger into whatever beast was scaring his horse. But there was nothing. Anywhere he looked there was nothing but mossy trees and overgrown vines and bushes. He sighed and lazily walked to his horse’s side.

“Shhh, shhh it’s alright…” He said softly while stroking the animal’s neck, repeating the words over and over to soothe her. “What spooked you? Hmm? Some bird?”

“I did.”

The sound of another, unfamiliar voice was enough to bring Chrollo back to full alertness. In a single movement, he drew his dagger and turned around. There was no one there. He looked around searching for any kind of oddity, but the forest was still the same, a land of nothing but green. Had he imagined the voice? Had the sound of the wind among the trees played a trick on his still sleepy head?

“I startled her.”

This time it was real, the voice was as real as the earth under Chrollo’s feet and closer, terribly closer. With the same swiftness, he turned back around and discovered that the owner of the voice was not just close, but right at the other side of the horse, petting her neck as well.

The sudden proximity of the mysterious person took Chrollo completely by surprise. He tried to back away, but stumbled on one of the many vines across the ground and ungracefully fell right on his butt, letting go of his knife and losing it, as if the embarrassment from falling was not enough.

“Ah, seems like I startled you too,” said the stranger completely deadpan, as if that had not been their intention by appearing all of a sudden. “Are you alright?”

_Am I alright?_ Chrollo wasn’t sure anymore. He rubbed his eyes, with the slight hope that he was still half-asleep, dreams somehow seeping into his eyes and clouding his view, but the person in front of him remained as strange as before.

Were they a man, or a woman? It was not clear. What was clear, however, was that they were young, and had a slim yet athletic body. Their hair was long and silky, and was adorned with plenty of tiny lilac flowers. Their eyes were a deep dark shade, like those of a doe, a rather angry doe. What was also undeniable was that this person did not have normal skin. Not in the sense that it was scarred or stained, but that its tone was nothing like he had ever seen.

Basically, the stranger’s skin was green. Not greenish. It was not the dull tinge that indicated sickness in people of pale skin. It was not the faint mark of a bruise either. No, it was an actual, light shade of green that covered their entire skin. Or what was visible, at least.

“I… I’m not sure,” he finally managed to answer.

The odd person hummed noncommittally and continued petting the horse. “Are you a hunter?”

“Yes,” he admitted hesitantly.

“You can’t hunt here.”

That was odd. He didn’t recall Hiddenwell being an exclusive hunting zone for the King, or anyone in that matter. The region was far from the capital, so it was uncommon to see nobility around. In fact, the closest settlements to Hiddenwell were small villages and scattered farms.

“I’m not here to hunt,” he lied, hoping to avoid an argument.

“Then why are you here?”

“I’m just passing by.”

The stranger glared at him through half-lidded eyes. “That’s a lie.”

_How could you tell?_ It was possible that this person had seen him wandering the previous day. It was better to say something more believable.

“There’s a beast that’s been attacking travellers around here, I was hired to track it down,” Chrollo said. It wasn’t really a lie. A bet was essentially a contract, just completely lacking legal value.

“I see. And what do you intend to do when you find that beast?”

Though faint, there was a hint of mockery in the stranger’s voice, which made Chrollo realize there was a possibility he was not considering. The survivors’ stories talked mainly about ‘some kind of beast’, but what if the beast was not really an animal? What if the forest’s monster was just a group of bandits, tricking people into thinking ‘magical creatures’ were attacking travellers? It was a possibility. Deception was an art, an art which worked wonderfully on fearful men.

_An otherworldly looking person acts as decoy and distracts the lost traveller; meanwhile, the rest prepares to attack._

In this scenario, the almost ethereal look of the stranger had a perfectly reasonable explanation. The greenish tint on their skin could be a pigment made from plants from that very same forest. He didn’t know how much pigment it would be required to paint an entire person, but it was doable in theory.

“When I find it…” Chrollo looked at the stranger straight to the eye, while conceitedly trying to find the dagger lost among the high grasses. “I’ll make sure it never hurts anyone else, ever again.”

The smile that Chrollo’s response elicited was very soft and small, but the sinister glare that briefly crossed the stranger’s doe eyes was enough to put the thief on edge. They _knew_. They knew that he had seen through their weird act, and that there was no beast for him to hunt, but humans. That had to be the truth. Why else would someone roam alone in the forest, dressed lightly and painted light green all over? Now that their cover was blown, the bandit was probably going to signal their accomplices to strike.

_I should have definitely brought Uvo_ , Chrollo thought as he resigned to the fact that he would not find his dagger again in time. It was fine, though. He would manage, and it would make a wonderful story to bring up next time someone started talking about magical creatures.

 

Illumi observed the human sitting in front of them, and felt horribly conflicted about what to do with him next. The human seemed to have been intelligent enough to understand that the one responsible for the frequent disappearances at Hiddenwell was them, and not some wild animal. There was a spark of recognition in Chrollo’s eyes and it filled Illumi with the urge to complete their mission, end him, slice his chest apart like the beast he had thought they were, or even better, leave him to the mercy (or rather completely lack of) of the many flesh-craving fae secretly peeking on them.

However, that would mean the definite end of the human, and Illumi did not want that just yet. It did not seem right, and, even though he was a trespasser, Illumi was still the one who made the rules in those lands, so if they deemed the time was not right, then it was not and they would wait and no one could criticize them for that.

“In my book, that is called hunting,” Illumi said calmly, not letting their internal conflict show in any way, “and you are not allowed to do that here.”

Chrollo raised an eyebrow. “Says who?”

Illumi took a moment to deliberate. _The Queen? Me?_ The trust that the Faerie Queen had on the Zoldyck family was such that she had granted Illumi with the freedom to act as they deemed appropriate over Hiddenwell. In other words, the decision was theirs. As long as Illumi kept their title, the forest was theirs.

“Me. _I_ forbid it,” Illumi replied proudly while stepping forward and standing closer to the human man, back straight and chin raised high, giving him a better look of the creature he was attempting to defy.

For a moment, Chrollo was left dumbfounded. Now that he could see them closer and under better light, he realized that not only their skin tone was inhuman; it also had a smooth sheen.

_Don’t be irrational. That can still be explained. Crushed pyrite or mother-of-pearl. That should make the trick_.

The long-haired stranger walked past him, and their serene demeanour confused Chrollo even more. Were they going to call for their bandit friends or not? Apparently, they were going to go through the stuff in his bag first.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

Illumi didn’t answer. Instead, they took an apple from the bag, looked back at Chrollo, and bit it while maintaining eye contact.

“Oh, just perfect,” he said under his breath.

“Hunter,” Illumi asked between bites, “what is your name?”

He sighed. “Chrollo, and yours?”

“I’m the Guardian of Hiddenwell,” they said, completely serious. “That’s all you need to know.”

The thief blinked twice. “The… ‘Guardian’?”

Illumi only nodded in response, and sat down to finish the rest of their fruit.

A new possibility started to weave in Chrollo’s mind. _Maybe the reason why this person is so calm is not that they are part of a group of bandits… Maybe it is because they are mad and truly believe they are some kind of forest vigilante_.

This alternative made much more sense. Marauders bands tended to be practical, and it was unlikely that they would stage such weird acts to assault travellers.

Chrollo’s suspicions went back to the wild animal theory. _There is a beast… but there’s also this lunatic, living in the forest. Superstitious travellers encounter this person, confuse them for a faerie, and boom! Suddenly the whole forest is haunted._

The trepidation of a possible ambush left Chrollo for good, and in his relief he realized he was kind of happy to have met someone in the desolated forest, even if they were crazy. If they lived there, they had to know the territory and could probably help track his ‘monster’. Of course, he would have to get past their forest-protector delusion first.

With slow movements, Chrollo stood up and sat closer to the ‘guardian’.

“I’m still curious about your name. I told you mine, it’s only fair that you tell me yours in return,” he said, trying to sound as amiable as possible.

 

Now that Chrollo was sitting right beside them, Illumi had to admit something they had noticed, but was intending to pretend they had not. This human was so beautiful it was as if he had been blessed with glamour. It was almost infuriating. He was a hunter; he was not supposed to look like that. He was not supposed to be able to sound so charming so suddenly either.

Illumi hesitated for a brief moment, then let the name slip through their lips.

“Illumi,” they said in almost a whisper, and Chrollo smiled.

“Illumi, may I ask, how did you manage to make your skin look like that?”

“What do you mean?”

Chrollo held one of Illumi’s hands and gently brushed his thumb against its back. Surprisingly, the pearly powder did not come off. “This. How do you make your skin look like this?”

Illumi could not even begin to process the question. Their heart was beating unreasonably fast even though nothing was happening. The human had taken their hand, yes, but he was harmless. He wasn’t even carrying his cold iron knife. Their agitation was as unreasonable as Chrollo’s question. “I… don’t understand.”

Chrollo smiled again, this once out of pity. _Is this person’s mind so gone that they don’t even remember how they tinted their skin light green?_ Chrollo turned to examine the clothes Illumi was wearing. It was a simple yellow dress, much simpler and lighter than what most women used normally. The fabric was wrapped like a tunic, tied with a belt at the waist and covering only one shoulder. Even though the design was quite rustic, the fabric was noticeably luxurious. _Silk_.

It was intriguing, just who was Illumi before losing their mind? Chrollo looked up at their face and was pleasantly surprised to see that they were faintly blushing. _So they like me_. That was good, that way they would not make much problem when he brought them back to Shalnark’s tavern. His friend would probably not believe it at first, but would have to accept the undeniable proof of the ‘monster’s’ carcass and Illumi’s story.

“Excuse me, what were you saying about my skin?”

“Oh, it was nothing.” There was no use asking anymore. If Illumi was so deep in their fantasy, Chrollo would probably have better results from playing along with it.

“No, you asked something. What was it?”

Chrollo let go of Illumi’s hand to cup one side of their face instead. He brushed their cheek in the same way; the pigment was very resistant there too.

“Nothing really, I just commented I found it beautiful,” he replied automatically, then realized it was true. Despite the mild shock it had given him when he first saw it, Illumi’s skin was radiant and vivid, and it felt as soft as the petal of a rose. So felt their hand, and their cheek, and also probably…

Chrollo brushed his thumb across Illumi’s lower lip _. Just like a petal, too_.

At that point, Illumi’s heart was pounding so fast, they understood how rabbits should feel when they were being hunted. They also understood why some of them did not run away, and stood stupidly on their spot instead.

It was not a matter of whether the moment felt ‘right’ to kill Chrollo anymore. Illumi was frozen by something between disbelief and expectancy. On the one hand, they could not believe Chrollo had had the audacity to do that. He knew who Illumi was now. Touching them so casually was an affront. They could not believe Chrollo had just done that but at the same time, as difficult as it was to admit, they also wanted him to continue, even though the if he got any closer Illumi  feared their heart would stop and they would, figuratively, die.

Then it happened. Following the impulse, Chrollo leaned forward to kiss them, but felt the satiny skin for merely a second. Almost immediately after their lips touched, Illumi vanished in front of his eyes. They literally vanished, turned into a cloud of pearly dust and tiny lilac flowers that swirled to the ground.

“WHAT-“

The hand that was not long ago holding Illumi’s chin closed in the air. They were not there. Illumi was not there and it was not because they had suddenly run away, it was because they had literally turned into dust, right in front of his eyes.

Panic spread through Chrollo as he finally accepted reality.

_A FAERIE, OH GOD THEY REALLY WERE A FAERIE I JUST KILLED A FAERIE_.

He looked at the ground, the lilac flowers were still there, lying on a carpet of moss and glitter.

_Maybe if I gather together the flowers Illumi will somehow come back to life and oh my god I should have listened to Shalnark when I could but I didn’t and now I killed a fae-_

Chrollo stopped his internal monologue to focus on his surroundings. The eerie silence of the forest was starting to fill with buzzing. He focused on it, and, when he distinguished something that could not be described as other thing but voices, he frantically ran to untie his horse to get away from the murder scene as quickly as possible.

He looked back just once. Just once, because when he did, he saw some unsettling silhouettes that were neither of normal animals or men. After that, he kept his eyes looking straight ahead the entire ride back to Shalnark’s tavern.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alternative title: oh my god chrollo, you can't just ask someone why they're green
> 
> k that's all for now hope you had fun c:


	3. Chapter 3

It was past noon when Chrollo finally arrived at Shalnark’s tavern. The trip had been shorter, but it had given him enough time to meditate about what had happened at Hiddenwell.

He was calmer now, though not completely. It was difficult to calm down completely. Chrollo had just discovered that the world he thought existed only in dreams was as real as the ground under his feet. It was a revelation big enough to startle anyone. But to be honest, that was not what had him worried. Had things happened differently, Chrollo was sure he could have handled the news much better. No, the real problem was that he had been greeted into this new world of wonders… and the first thing he did in it was screw up.

Chrollo kept a charming smile as he passed by the usual faces at the tavern and walked to the side of the only person he thought was capable of providing insight into his situation.

“Eh? Back already? What happened?” Shalnark asked.

“I think I killed a fae.”

Shalnark stopped sweeping the floor and stared hard at his friend. There was no way he had said what he thought he had just said.

“Sorry, I think I misheard.”

“I killed a fae,” Chrollo repeated, “a faerie… Whatever you call them. I’m not sure.”

After convincing Shalnark of taking deep breaths and calming down, they sneaked to the storage room to talk in private, and Chrollo described each second in the forest as well as he could.

“Alright… Let me see if I understood… You kissed this… creature, and it vanished?”

“Not really a kiss, but yes, they turned into pearly dust,” Chrollo specified, “and some flowers… Although I think those weren’t part of them, just decoration, like a garland?”

The thief shut up after seeing the concerned expression on his friends’ face.

 “…I’m not sure if this is any consolation, but I don’t think you killed that fae.”

“What do you mean?”

“…Well, as far as I’m concerned,” Shalnark said seriously, “the only way to kill a faerie is with cold iron. However, I have never heard of someone actually killing one. I know stories of people hurting them, and even some of people who managed to capture them… but killing?” He shook his head. “Anyway, I don’t think a simple kiss would be able to achieve that.”

“Then why did they vanish?”

Shalnark raised his hands and shrugged. How they vanished was magic, why they vanished could be many things.

Both men went silent after that. Chrollo understood very well why Shalnark wasn’t sure it was a consolation. That was, in fact, why he was consulting him about the matter.

He may not know as much as his friend, but he knew magical creatures were able to lay curses on people. He also knew that those creatures were also very fickle, so it didn’t matter what he had done, what mattered was how they took it. If he had offended one of the forest’s inhabitants, he could be in trouble.

The thief sighed. “So what should I do? Is there a way of knowing if I am… you know… under some spell?”

Shalnark stood up and paced across the narrow room. “If the creature disappeared, and you escaped right away… Then maybe they didn’t have a chance to do anything. Hmmm…” The young man kept pacing for a while, then stopped abruptly. “But why wait for misfortunes to happen? I think we should go to Hiddenwell, the three of us, and kill that thing before it even has the chance of thinking of hurting you.”

“Kill it?” Chrollo asked surprised. He was so concerned about having killed Illumi on accident and now Shalnark was proposing it. “But you just said you weren’t sure faeries could be killed.”

“By kisses,” Shalnark clarified, “the touch of an iron blade, however, should do the job.”

“What about the rest? I don’t know if you were paying attention before, but Illumi was not the only one living in that forest.”

“That’s why we’ll bring Uvo.”

The thief shook his head. “Too much risk for nothing.”

“Too much risk? Chrollo, _you_ are at risk.”

The concern in Shalnark’s tone was sincere and sweet. They hadn’t known each other for very long, but he and Uvo already considered him a dear friend.

They had crossed roads a couple of months ago, in the middle of a harsh winter. There was a storm, and Shalnark had been the only person who gave him and Uvo shelter. He lived in a battered hut, with barely enough to protect himself from the cold. It hadn’t always been like that, he told them. His family had had and inn once. It was a lot of work, but it provided them with plenty to live. One night, however, a fire destroyed the building to its foundations, taking the lives of his family as well. The fire had eaten everything, and the memories were too painful, so Shalnark decided to leave everything behind and start anew. The state of his house was evidence enough that things did not go as well as he had hoped. After hearing his story, Chrollo took a decision. He gave the young man all the treasure they had on him, which was an important amount of gold and precious stones they had looted before starting travelling. When Shalnark refused, overwhelmed by the quantity of treasure in front of him, Chrollo offered him a deal.

_“We don’t really need this treasure, but we need shelter. Buy the place you need to get back on business and let us live there until winter passes and we can continue travelling. That way everyone wins.”_

It would have been crazy to refuse that offer.

“We’re not declaring war on Hiddenwell,” Chrollo finally said. “I’m not putting you and Uvo at risk just because of a curse we don’t even know if it exists.”

“Then all we can do is wait…” Shalnark pouted. “Oh well, should anything happen, I’ll do everything I can to help you.”

Chrollo smiled warmly. He didn’t doubt that.

The small room went quiet as both men were lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly, Chrollo gasped, as if he had just discovered something amazing on the pile of logs in front of him.

“There’s something we’re not considering,” he said. “There’s something else we can do.”

Shalnark looked at his friend curiously and waited for him to continue.

“We can steal the fae.”

The suggestion was followed by a lengthy rant as to why that was an even worse idea than killing it, and that yes, Shalnark knew some stories of people capturing faeries, but he would not trust on their veracity completely because he had never seen the actual captives. If they tried something they heard on a story and it failed, it could be even more dangerous than just fighting the creature to death straight off.

The explanation was completely ignored. Not because he didn’t understand the risk, but because how could Shalnark not see the potential of that catch? They didn’t even need to keep the fae. You might get favors from a captive magical creature, of course, but if they sold them, they could make ten times what Shalnark had paid for the tavern.

“Ten taverns, Shal. Now that’s a risk worth taking. Think about it.”

“Did you even pay attention to me before?” Shalnark sighed. Of course he had, but the fae issue had taken a turn and was no longer a problem, but a challenge. Chrollo would not let it go unless he gave him solid reasons. “…Alright, let’s say we go hunting for fair folk. First of all, do we capture the one you kissed, or can it be another one?”

“It wasn’t really a kiss, we didn’t even-”

“And if the forest happens to be more crowded than we imagine, then what? It would be too difficult to catch one without alerting the others. Maybe if the Troupe got together, we could, but they are not here. How long would it take to gather all of them? What would we do until then? Wait? And what if you really are cursed?”

“Alright! Alright, I get it…” Chrollo said, though it was more a plea for him to relax than a surrender.

So he waited a little before making the next question, “Shalnark, do you trust me?”

Shalnark wrinkled his eyes. He could feel what was coming and, even though he didn’t agree, he couldn’t keep arguing anymore. It was the shine in Chrollo’s eyes. There was a spark in his grey eyes that warned him he was not going to back down, but, at the same time, it also reassured him that everything would be alright. He could not really explain it. It was just the way Chrollo was. He never really had to go into details as to why they should do what he said, there was no need. Even if he was acting merely by instinct, the look on his face was so full of confidence it always ended up convincing everyone.

“…Yes,” Shalnark sighed. “I do.”

Chrollo smiled at the answer. “Do you still have some of the treasure we gave you?”

“…Yes, it’s buried nearby.”

“Then I want you to bring it here and show me what’s left. And don’t tell Uvo a word about this. I will tell him when the time is right.”

Shalnark whined internally. “…Do I want to know why you need the treasure?”

“I’m going back to Hiddenwell. I’m going to apologize.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a short chapter to bring this back from the dead  
> next ones will be longer so it can all end soon and we both can rest


	4. will-o'-wisps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> will-o'-wisps are cool  
> chrollo is chill but knows no fear  
> i can never keep things short

When Uvo got back, everything seemed almost just like he had left it.

Almost.

There was a frown in Shalnark’s face that just wouldn’t go away, even when he showed him the wild boar he had brought for him and placed it over a table with a slam.

“Are you alright?”

Shalnark nodded, but Uvo didn’t believe him. Usually, he would yell at him for laying the heavy corpse on a table instead of the kitchen floor, but now, not even a sigh.

“Are you sure? Did something happen?”

“No… Nothing.”

Uvo looked around, but everything seemed to be in place, everyone seemed calm and normal.

“…I know you’re lying.”

Shalnark looked up at him and froze.

“Uh? Me??”

“Shalnark… Shal…”

The shorter man tried to walk away but Uvo layed both, giant hands on his shoulders, trapping him on the spot.

“Shal, you know I care about you, don’t ya?”

He gulped. “I know…”

“And you know what I’ll have to do if you don’t tell me truth.”

Shalnark opened his eyes and mouth wide as he shook his head. “There’s no need. I’m telling you! Everything is alright!”

“I’ll kiss you Shalnark. If you don’t tell me, I’ll kiss you.”

“I’m telling you the truth nothing happened everything is good!!!”

“Alright, you wanted it that way!”

Screaming filled the tavern as Shalnark tried to push away the pouty face of his friend.

“CHROLLO WAS HERE!!!” He blurted out when their faces were just inches away.

“Uh?”

“CHROLLO WAS HERE!... He was here… Something happened to him.”

 

Meanwhile, miles away, Chrollo was arriving at his destination. When his horse recognized the forest, it reared and neighed, trying to turn around.

“Shhhhh, it’s alright. It’s alright.”

The reluctant horse advanced slowly. Night-time darkness had already engulfed the forest, and soon Chrollo had to stop and continue on foot.

“Illumi?” He called out loudly, but there was no answer.

He knew that, if it was true nothing happened to them, Illumi should already know of his presence.

“…Guardian?” He tried again. “It’s beginning to get chilly here, so I’m going to light a fire-”

“You’re not welcome here.”

The voice came from somewhere amongst the trees, and it was as cold as the night breeze blowing.

“Ah… I imagined,” Chrollo continued, undeterred and happy Shalnark had been right. “But I came here anyway because I wanted to apologize to you. Could you come out?”

There was no sound but the whistle of the wind and the nervous puffing of his horse.

“I’m sorry. I really am. I was a fool. You see… I used to believe stories about the fair folk were nothing but bedtime stories.” Chrollo said as he tried to look around in the dark, remembering what Shalnark had told him before leaving.

 _‘The trick is to praise them’,_ Shalnark had said. _‘Fair folk love being praised. If you want to get this one’s attention, admit you didn’t believe in them, but fix it immediately with some compliments, because disbelief in their kind makes them very, very angry’._

“I didn’t believe someone with a beauty as yours could exist,” he continued. “When I met you, I thought I was dreaming and, as anyone in my position would have done, I just tried to make sure the vision in front of me was real.”

From his left side, Illumi rolled their eyes. They knew exactly what he was doing. The only time people mentioned any kind of ‘beauty’ in them was to get something in return. It was useless. If the hunter really wanted to get on their good side, he should compliment something else, like their solemn presence, their sublime powers, even their freaking title would have been better. Also, what was it with being so vague? When praising someone, one should commend something specific to sound more sincere. Their hair, for example, would have been a perfect choice.

Anyway, it didn’t really matter. Chrollo had made a mistake going back to the woods. He could have taken Illumi by surprise before, but he was not going to do it twice.

Chrollo turned around at the sound of rustling, and saw Illumi’s figure walking slowly towards him. One of their hands was raised, and on its palm: light. It seemed impossible, but fire was dancing on the palm of their hand, flames in shades of muted yellow and white, as if the fact they were not burning their hand was not unnatural enough.

As Illumi went to his side, vines and weeds moving from their path, Chrollo could understand that beauty was not this creature’s ‘thing’. The way they walked was smooth, as if gliding over the moss, yet the apathy of their expression and blackness of their eyes contrasted harshly with the softness of their movements. Illumi’s eyes were fixed on him, wide and dark, and he was sure they were void of anger, but also of mercy. If the compliments had gotten to them, it didn’t show at all.

Chrollo, however, did not let this affect his determination. Even though the atmosphere was eerie, Chrollo was not a fearful man, so he kept his gaze locked on Illumi’s all the time, until they finally stopped at his side.

“Is that all you have to say?” Illumi said. “What a lame apology then…”

“Actually-”

Before he could finish, Illumi turned around and started walking away.

“Actually, I also brought you a gift.”

There was no reaction, Illumi kept moving forward with total indifference.

“Wait!”

Chrollo tried to catch up, but it was darker again without the fire and he tripped over the inopportune roots of a tree. When he got back on his feet, Illumi seemed much too far away for how slow they were walking.

“Wait!”

He kept following, at a pace fast enough not to lose track of the dim light, but safe enough not to trip again.

“If you could just- stop!”

Illumi seemed far away, yet their speed was that of a carriage of snails, so Chrollo continued following. He increased his speed a bit, just enough to cut the chase, but soon found himself tired. _Maybe we are walking up a slope_ , he thought, and kept following, because Illumi was so close now that just a bit more, a bit more effort…

Suddenly, Illumi turned their face to him, raised their hand, and blew the fire away. Chrollo slowed down, but didn’t stop. He could still see the faint shine of Illumi’s dress, faint, but still traceable. So he continued, full of determination to catch the eluding fae.

And then Illumi stopped. They walked into a clearing and simply stopped, and then looked at the sky.

Chrollo was not going to risk Illumi vanishing again while he looked up to see what stars they were examining, so he kept going forward. Something like a wall of stones interrupted his path. It barely got a bit over his knees in height, so he decided so jump over it instead of loosing time looking for the breach Illumi must have passed through.

“Finally… I thought I wou-”

It took Chrollo a moment to understand he was not simply tripping. There was a hole, apparently, behind the stone wall, and he had fallen in it. He was falling and hitting himself repeatedly against what seemed to be just pure stone. The pain after the impact with the ground was the worst part. Luckily, he didn’t have to endure it for long, as he soon blacked out.

When he opened his eyes again, there was a white orb in the sky.

_Was tonight full moon?_

Chrollo tried rubbing his eyes, and the pain from the movement made him remember what had happened.

The circle up high was not the moon; it was the daylight sky. The reason why he saw it as a circle was that he had fallen into a well.

The walls of the well were made of hard stone. In theory, he could climb them, but in practice, quite unlikely. All of his body ached. He had plenty of scratches, some deep cuts bleeding, and one of his arms hurt like never in his life. When Chrollo looked around to examine on what he had landed, it scrambled his stomach.

The bottom of the well was full of human remains, some very so old that they were only clothes and bones, and others… much fresher.

Besides the shattered bones, Chrollo saw something else that could have cut him. There were blades and swords stuck to the inner walls of the well. However, they didn’t get high. His guess was that someone in a similar situation had tried to use them as leverage to climb, without luck.

_Of course it’s useless. You don’t guide someone to a trap like this and risk them getting out. Illumi still must be around, waiting to thwart any attempt of escape._

“HELLO?” The effort of shouting made him cough. The air inside the well was disgusting, barely breathable. “Is there anybody out there?”

As expected, a long-haired silhouette appeared over the edge.

“Good morning!” Illumi shouted. “How are you feeling?”

 _Peachy_. He took a moment to clear his head. He was angry, but if he wanted to get out alive, he would have to convince Illumi of letting him out first.

“Oh, Guardian! Why did you lead me here? Are you punishing me?” He asked in the saddest voice. “After I tried to make amends with you?”

“Yeah!” came the answer, and it sounded almost entertained.

Chrollo took a deep breath and continued his acting. “I deserve it…”

“Uh? What did you say??”

“I SAID I DESERVE IT!” He shouted and started coughing again.

“Ooh! …What?? Death?? Yes, you do!!”

The way the creature talked was very casual, almost like a kid up a tree shouting to his friend on the ground. This was also very unnerving because they were not kids, and they were not friends and they were definitely not playing.

“Your anger,” Chrollo answered, making his best effort to let his annoyance out of his tone. “I deserve your anger.”

“Oh… But I’m not angry.”

“Oh really? Will you help me get out of here then?”

“Hmm… Nah.”

Chrollo looked down and counted to five. “Oh, Guardian of Hiddenwell! What must I do to earn your forgiveness?”

“Die, and quickly! Oh! Or would it be better if you agonized slowly? Hmm…..”

 _You sadistic-_ “Guardian Illumi!” Chrollo shouted to get their attention back. “Would you listen to the last plea of a dying man?”

It took a moment, but Illumi finally agreed. “Speak.”

“Will you forgive me?”

“You’re forgiven,” they said immediately. “But you’re still not getting out.”

“I’m being serious. Before I die, will you give me the chance of offering you my deepest apologies? My regret? My emeralds?”

“…your what?”

Struggling, Chrollo managed to open his bag, take out the piece of jewellery he had brought and raise it as high as his arm allowed.

“Emeralds!!!”                                                        

 

Chrollo tied the rope to his waist for extra safety before giving Illumi the cue to pull. It hurt. He could not wait to get under sunlight again and examine the real state of his injuries.

When he finally got to the mouth of the well, he was surprised to see that no other creature was helping Illumi pull. They had done it by themselves, with that slender figure.

“Are you getting out or not?” Illumi asked, bringing him back to Earth.

Once on the ground, the good ground, they both sat down and Chrollo offered Illumi the gift without further ceremony. Their eyes shined at the sight of the delicate tiara, made of gold and tiny emeralds.

Carefully they put it on, then looked back at Chrollo with eyes wider than ever, expecting an opinion.

“It’s like it was made for you.”

A tiny smile formed on the fae’s lips. Illumi took the tiara off and, with extreme care, examined it closely, brushing a finger over every stone, every curve, every detail.

Chrollo used the distraction of the creature to assess the state of his mission and his body. He tore a piece of fabric and tied it over the cut that seemed most urgent. He could not count his bruises, but he knew the one that hurt the most was on his head, and that he actually had a bump there that was fine unless he touched it. His left arm, however, hurt like hell, even when still. He would probably have to ask Uvo to help him put the bones back into place. He decided not to think much about it. Anticipation was not always a good friend.

Injuries aside, Chrollo was happy to note his mission had been a success. Illumi was practically hypnotized by the head piece. It was safe to assume he really was forgiven this time. Now, all he had to do was talk his way out of the forest.

He examined his options. Pleading again was ruled out immediately. He was no longer ‘a dying man’, so Illumi had no reason to keep listening. They could remember their grudge as fast as they had forgotten it at the sight of gold. If Illumi decided they still wanted him dead, he would have to fight back, and he didn’t want to try defending himself with only one arm. Chrollo needed to end things peacefully, and in a way that allowed him the possibility of returning to Hiddenwell, if possible.

“I could get you more, if you wanted,” he said, waking Illumi up from their reverie.

“I- I don’t need more.” They answered.  “I don’t really have a need for stones… It’s just shiny rocks,” they said, but didn’t hand the tiara back. In fact, their hands seemed to tense around it as they spoke.

“Do you like emeralds?”

“…I don’t,” Illumi started, but couldn’t continue.

 They looked at the tiara pointedly. They probably wanted to say they didn’t like or need emeralds, Chrollo figured, but saying that would also mean that they didn’t need the ornament, and Chrollo could take it back. They did **not** look as if they wanted to give it back.

“What other colours do you like?” the thief asked.

Illumi lowered their gaze. “I told you, there’s no need.”

“If you are into greens, jade is another stone from that colour range… but I think you would also look good with pearls… Rosy pearls.”

Illumi stared back at the thief, mouth parted, but holding back the words.

“Ah, what am I saying? I should get diamonds.” Chrollo said, more to himself than anyone else.

The faerie blinked many times as they tried to go back to their authoritative stance.

“There won’t be any need for you to bring anything else. I accept your apologies and your gift. You’re free to leave, so go quickly before I change my mind.”

Chrollo smiled widely at his success, but before he could speak, Illumi shooed him away with a hand.

“Just go. Tell Ninel to guide you back to the main road.”

“Ninel?”

“Go.”

Chrollo bowed down his head and got up. “Oh, wait. You didn’t tell me if you liked diamonds.”

Under their mask of apathy, Illumi gritted their teeth. Of course they liked diamonds. Who didn’t like diamonds?

“I don’t need diamonds.”

“I will take that as a yes.” Chrollo made a small reverence. “I will come back when I get my hands on some, then.”

“Wh- No! Don’t come back.”

“Until then!” Chrollo waved goodbye as he walked away.

“Don’t come back. I’m warning you.”

“You will love them!”

“No! Don’t-! You stay away from my land!!!”

When he reached the end of the clearing, he understood what Illumi had meant. Hidden behind bushes and big leaves, several inhuman creatures were watching him. At first, all of them, including Chrollo, froze.

“…Is any of you called Ninel?” He managed to ask.

The creatures looked at each other and whispered. Then, one of them approached him.

“That’s my name,” said a creature whose top half was of a woman’s, but the rest of a horse.

Chrollo smiled wide as he carefully picked what to say next in order not to screw up again. What was the etiquette when talking to a creature like that? How was she going to guide him? Was he allowed to ride her? Did he even want to?

“Well, hello! Um, my name is Chrollo, and- there,” he said pointing back at the well, “your guardian- told me you would guide me out of the forest.”

“Alright, follow me.”

Chrollo let out a deep breath, thankful that he was spared of at least _that_ awkwardness. Anyway, there was still another problem.

 _How the hell do I ask about my horse_?

During the chase of the previous night, Chrollo had decided to leave the horse behind, hoping that he would catch Illumi soon and he would be able to get it back later. Of course, things had taken a different turn and now Chrollo had no idea where it was, or whether it was correct to ask Ninel about an animal that could very well be her cousin.

He decided to forget about it. He didn’t want to risk rising his record of offended magical creatures to two. Hopefully, someone on a horse or carriage would pass by the road and give him a ride back to the tavern.

If he got there. Minutes had passed and the landscape still looked as dense as in the beginning. Chrollo was sure the well couldn’t be that far from where he had come from, so he started to worry Ninel was only luring him deeper into the woods.

“How far is the main road?”

Ninel looked at him over her bare shoulder and giggled.

“Tired already? We still have some trek. You walked a lot last night.”

Chrollo tried to remember, but he was sure it couldn’t be that far.

“You don’t remember?” Ninel asked as if reading his thoughts. “Then you must have been under the spell of the will-o'-the-wisp.”

He remembered the flames dancing on Illumi’s hand, then what Shalnark had told him. He had warned Chrollo about ‘being tricked’, but he had never imagined it would be as simple as staring at a pretty light. Had Shalnark been more specific, maybe he wouldn’t have acted like a damn moth.

“Human,” she continued, “you are a brave man, but I have seen plenty like you before, and only a few were able to leave the forest alive… If you are as intelligent as you are brave, you won’t test your luck a third time.”

The warning was serious, yet still, Chrollo was unaffected. His initials plans had not changed. In fact, he was already making them bigger in his head.

How much could he sell a beast like Ninel for? Her body was already a wonder, a collector would acquire her happily, dead or alive. The other creatures that were watching him at the clearing were also of peculiar aspect. If he could catch them, if he could sell them…

The priority was still the guardian, though. If Illumi was in charge of a whole piece of land, they had to be the most powerful there. Whether they would be sold immediately or kept for a while depended on what they could offer, but that was a thing to see later. He still had to polish his plan.

Before the sun set, Chrollo finally got to familiar territory. He bid farewell to his weird guide and kept walking in the direction of the tavern. If he was going to spend the night in the open again, he better found a place where he could be somewhat covered from the wind.

After what felt like an eternity, a couple of silhouettes appeared in the distance. They were riding in the opposite direction, but maybe he could get them to share some food and water.

When they got closer, Chrollo was happy to see just how great his luck was. The people that were coming towards him were his dear friends.

“What happened? Are you alright?” they asked once they got close enough to see the state of their friend.

“Could be better, but I’ll survive.”

“What happened to your horse?” asked Shalnark.

“I… I have no idea,” Chrollo answered. “Why are you here? Were you looking for me?”

“Uvo forced me to tell him were you were, and we decided to come looking for you if you weren’t back by the end of the day.”

Shalnark had not kept his word, but at least it had been for good. Their timing was perfect. The two men helped him get on Uvo’s horse, and went back to the tavern. There they did the best to clean his wounds and fix his bones, all while flooding him in questions.

Chrollo told them everything. He told them about the other creatures that inhabited the forest, and how he wanted to study them for a little longer before deciding what to do. The fae was the priority, but if they could get bigger loot then the Troupe’s annual meeting would probably take place at the forest.

The next day, Chrollo was still beaten up. He rested the entire day, and Shalnark brought him food to his room so he wouldn’t have to walk the stairs.

But it only got worse. The days kept passing and Chrollo felt himself grow weaker and weaker. Even though he had cleaned his wounds with a rag soaked with water every day, some looked raw and foul. He also developed a fever, which seemed to pass at times, only to come back stronger.

A week had passed after the last visit to Hiddenwell, and Shalnark was worried that his friend got no better. He could tell something was not right, but he didn’t have the knowledge to point what. All he could do was prepare brews of herbs. He was not pleased with himself for this.

Uvo could notice, but he also knew there was not much else to do. In his experience, it was hard to find a healer that really did their work. Shalnark was already doing enough by making all those weird teas. If he kept worrying like that, he would end up getting sick himself.

That is why when Shalnark started saying he was seeing things, he was sure he had finally lost his mind.

“I’m telling you! That crow has been watching us for days!”

“Shal, that’s not weird. Those things are smart; maybe it realized we have food here and wants to steal some.”

“No, no, I tried giving it beans, but it didn’t take them. It just kept staring at me... Uvo… That thing… I think I saw it looking through our opened windows.”

“Maybe it’s looking for something fancier,” he shrugged, “like meat.”

Shalnark shook his head. “It’s not looking for food, it’s watching _us_.”

Uvo sighed. “If that bird is making you so nervous, I will kill it for you.”

That afternoon, Uvo went out with stones and a sling. The first shot got close enough to almost hit the bird, and it flew away cawing.

It didn’t appear anymore throughout the day, so Uvo supposed that was the last time they heard it. He was wrong.

Late at night, or rather, almost at dawn, someone knocked on the door. They ignored it. It was what they usually did when something like that happened after closing hours. This time, however, after many insistent knocks, a bird started cawing.

Shalnark shook the arm of Uvo, waking him up.

“It’s back!” He whispered to him.

“Huh?”

“The crow! It’s back. It’s knocking at the door!”

“Huh??”

Uvo stretched lazily and went to the door with his friend behind him.

“We’re closed!” He shouted. “Go away!”

The response was, as Shalnark had said, angry cawing from what was undoubtedly a crow. Uvo rubbed his eyes. He had awakened completely by then, and he could hear something else behind the door. There was cawing, but also someone shushing said cawing, and then knocking.

Upset at the disturbance of his sleep, Uvo unlocked the door, ready to punch whoever was bothering them at those hours.

“I said we are closed! Are you dumb?”

On the other side, a cloaked figure held their fist in the air, surprised by the shout and the size of the person it was coming from.

Still, they didn’t back away. Instead, they pulled back the hood of their cloak in complete calm.

The person in front of Uvo was… strange.

Their face was of soft features, except for their eyes. They were big and deep and lacked a certain shine, which gave the stranger an atmosphere of coldness and hostility, even though their expression was completely blank. Their hair was silky, raven black, and their skin… Uvo rubbed his eyes again. Maybe he hadn’t awaken completely yet.

“I am Illumi Zoldyck,” the stranger said, “Guardian of Hiddenwell. I have come to see Chrollo.”

Uvo let his jaw drop. It was the fae.

“What are you doing here?” Shalnark asked bravely, from behind his friend’s back.

The creature looked at Shalnark, then back at Uvo.

“Are you Chrollo’s guards?”

“You bet,” Uvo answered menacingly. “What do you want with him?”

“That’s none of your business.”

Before Uvo’s anger showed, Shalnark got in between them.

“Then we’re not letting you in,” he said firmly, all previous fear forgotten in order to protect his sick friend upstairs.

Illumi’s brow twitched. These mortals were incredibly annoying. It wasn’t even like they needed their permission to enter. Though it was true the main door was practically covered in rusty horseshoes, the kitchen door wasn’t. The only reason Illumi hadn’t sneaked through the service entrance, was to show decorum. Decorum that had been a mistake, apparently.

“He gave me a gift. I want to return it, but I won’t leave such a precious item in the hands of untrustworthy people.”

“What did you just say?!”

“Besides,” Illumi added impassively, “I won’t risk you not delivering it immediately and waiting until it’s too late.”

Shalnark pulled Uvo’s arm and spoke before him again.

“What do you mean?”

“A little bird told me Chrollo is ill," Illumi said, and a crow cawed from somewhere in the trees. “Very, very ill. I want to make sure he knows I returned his gift this before he passes away, so, will you move?”

None moved. Illumi’s words said what both feared, but hadn’t dared to say aloud. Chrollo was dying. Slowly, but surely, if they didn’t do something to stop it.

“Help him,” Shalnark said impulsively. “We will let you in if you help him.”

“Help him? And why should I?”

“Because it’s your fault he is like he is now. All he wanted was to apologize to you. He didn’t deserve what you did to him.”

Illumi held their breath. The short guard knew about the non-accidental accident and about the apology. It was only reasonable to assume he also knew about _the reason_ of the apology. Illumi felt their blood rushing to their cheeks as they stared blankly at the man. He was still talking, but Illumi wasn’t listening anymore. All they could think of was the fact that _the guards knew_. As if the whole forest witnessing the pitiful way THEY, the Guardian of Hiddenwell, designated by Queen Titania herself, had behaved that day was not embarrassing enough, now these two mortals knew as well.

“Fine!” Illumi exclaimed suddenly. “Fine, I’ll see what I can do, just let me in already.”

 

Illumi lit the candle at the small table by Chrollo’s bed and was displeased with the dull light it provided. To fix this, they blew air into their cupped hands until the much brighter flame was formed. They repeated the process a couple more times and then left the ghostly fire float around in the air.

The room was narrow, rustic, and completely bare of decoration. If it weren’t for the man sleeping on a simple straw bed with an improvised table by his side, they would have mistaken the room for a storage one. Chrollo slept soundly, covered to his shoulders with heavy fur covers. His face was pale and had marked red bags under his eyes. Illumi touched his forehead, it was frighteningly hot.

Very slowly, Chrollo opened his eyes. He seemed confused, so Illumi straightened up and took a few steps back for him to see them well.

“Good morning.”

The voice seemed to help him recognize them, but he was still justifiably confused.

“You might be wondering what I’m doing here,” Illumi continued as they removed their bag and placed it on the table. “You see, after days of meditation, I came to the conclusion that I should return your gift to you. While I recognize and appreciate its value, I can’t keep it. I realized that keeping it could give you the impression that we have some kind of friendship, which is entirely, completely, and absolutely wrong.”

Illumi took the carefully wrapped tiara and placed it on the table. Chrollo sat up on his humble straw bed, still confused but focused entirely on Illumi.

“So, to sum up, we are not friends, there’s no need for you to bring me gifts and no reason to go back to Hiddenwell. You are not welcome there. If you ever sneak into my lands again, I will kill you. Now, is that clear?”

Illumi raised their chin high as they waited for an answer, but Chrollo took his moment.

Frowning, he looked at the table, then back at Illumi.

“You are…”

Illumi prepared for whatever argument he could bring.

“…so covered.”

“Eh?” The fae looked down at their clothes. They were wearing a cloak and, under it, a sleeveless surcoat lined with golden thread, and under it, well, the list of robes kept going. “Yes. I assumed it was best to use more formal clothing for this visit,” they answered, and then, looking at the dusty wooden walls, “though it seems it was not necessary.”

“Are you bringing me back the tiara?”

“Yes.”

“Why? You didn’t like it?”

“I did.”

“Then why? I don’t understand.”

It seemed Chrollo was paying more attention to Illumi’s clothing than their speech. It also seemed that he was saddened by the situation.

Illumi looked to the side to avoid the questioning grey eyes of the mortal.

“I was told you were sick, is that true?”

The question was just to change the subject. Illumi already knew the answer. Judging by the sweaty, pale look of Chrollo’s skin and the faint yet characteristic smell of infected wounds, Illumi’s suspicions had been correct. If Chrollo was not treated, he was on sure trip to the land of eternal sleep.

The way he held his left arm also seemed to indicate it was broken. It had to hurt, being so bruised and wounded and affected by fever. Chrollo must have been in pain for days already, and he could be for many more, as death by those types of injuries was certain, but slow.

Despite all of this, Chrollo offered Illumi a warm smile.

“I’ve been better,” he answered.

 _Irritating,_ Illumi thought. Everything about the man was irritating. His filthy home, his disrespectful guards, and the way he accepted pain so silently, even in front of the one who was responsible for it. Was it possible that the smile on his lips was real? Was it possible for him to really be happy, even in a situation like that? Illumi refused to believe this. There was no way Chrollo didn’t hold any grudges against them. He just had to be a very good actor.

“Ah, you’re lucky then. I have something that could fix that,” Illumi said as they produced a tiny vial from their bag.

Chrollo frowned again. “…Wait, are you helping me? …Why? Why do you want to help me after all you said before?”

 _So he was paying attention_. What an irritating man. Why did he have to ask that? Couldn’t he just accept their help the way he was accepting pain?

“Why are you questioning me? Ever since I got to this filthy household I have been interrogated, doubted, and disrespected.”

“I was not-”

“I only brought this potion with me because your horse insisted on it,” Illumi continued without giving him a chance to interrupt. “But what do I get in return? Disbelief and ungratefulness.”

Chrollo raised his good arm and tried to calm Illumi down. “Hold on, what did you say? Who insisted?”

“Your horse. Well, your stolen horse. It’s amazing how much she likes you, even after what you did.”

Chrollo stared at Illumi dumbfounded, and started laughing softly.

“You are a thief. I should have realized when you gave me that gift. There was no way a simple hunter- Are you laughing?”

It was Illumi now who frowned. Chrollo had stopped paying attention to them and was reclining on his bed again.

“My horse…” he laughed to himself. “You talked to my horse.”

“Yes? What is so funny about that?”

He covered himself up to his ears. “Nothing…”

“Are you- Are you going to sleep?”

“Yes… It was nice dreaming of you… but I’m tired… and cold…” Chrollo mumbled and closed his eyes.

 _He thinks he’s dreaming_.

“Hey… don’t cover yourself so much.” Illumi kneeled down and pressed a hand against his forehead again. It was warmer than before. “You might feel cold, but you are burning.”

Chrollo only grumbled in response.

“Don’t fall asleep. I’m not done talking to you.”

The man opened his eyes lazily, and looked up at them.

It was impossible to pretend to be upset at him any longer. Chrollo looked at them through tired, beady eyes, and Illumi could not help but feeling sorry for him.

With one hand, Illumi helped him raise his head, and with the other, they brought the vial to his lips. “Drink this, please.”

Illumi made sure Chrollo had drunk even the last drop of the potion before slowly setting his head back on the bed.

They looked at each other in silence, and for a moment, Illumi feared Chrollo had realized the true reason they were there.

But if he did, he didn’t mention it.

“Can you make more fire?” he asked. “It’s freezing here.”

“These flames are enough to heat the room,” Illumi said. “Just give them time. I’ll leave them burning until morning comes.”

That was a lie. Magical fire produced no warmth, but it was a white lie that soothed Chrollo enough to close his eyes again.

“Thank you…”

Illumi remained sitting on the floor by Chrollo’s side until the even rise and fall of his chest signalled sleep had taken over him once more.

They felt calm. Chrollo was still unwell, but he would be much better soon. The potion they had given him would clean his blood of all contamination. Chrollo was lucky Milluki had managed to get a vial of it for Illumi on time.

Because that was the truth. Illumi didn’t happen to have potions with them at Hiddenwell, because they had no need for them. For this reason, they had asked one of their brothers to get one after Anton, the crow, had informed them of Chrollo’s dangerous condition.

No one had begged for them to go help him. Even though it was true Illumi had talked with his horse, she didn’t really care about the thief’s whereabouts, less about his health.

That was the truth; it had all been Illumi’s choice.

Illumi opened the only window in the room and was greeted by the first rays of sunshine. They let the ghostly flames fade away, and watched Chrollo one last time. They had to go. People at Hiddenwell would notice their absence if they stayed longer. Besides, they could hear rustling from the other side of the door. The guards kept going around and talking to each other, and Illumi feared they would get tired of waiting and just irrupt in the room. They had to go.

Their eyes moved from the man to the table, where the tiara lay wrapped in a velvety scarf. It felt horrible to let go of it, but Illumi hoped it would only be temporary. When Chrollo woke up the next day he would be much better, and his mind much sharper. He would recall the visit and he would find the incongruence between Illumi’s words and deeds. As curious as he seemed to be, he wouldn’t be able to leave things like that. He would go back to the forest, hopefully with the tiara, and Illumi would be waiting for him.

What Illumi wanted to obtain from this was unclear even to them. All they knew was that the days following Chrollo’s departure had been excruciatingly boring, and that, even though they had seen how difficultly he had walked away, deep down they were waiting for him to appear again, with that stupid charming smile and, they crossed their fingers, more gems. What would happen after that, if they would kill him or let him go, was uncertain.

Illumi turned invisible to the human eye and opened the door. As expected, the guards were waiting there, and they had not wasted their time. Both men were armed with knives and had tied horseshoes around their bodies, as the most ridiculous armour Illumi had ever seen.

When the guards noticed the door had opened ‘on its own’, they rushed into the room, barely giving time for Illumi to move to the side. As they walked calmly downstairs, they could hear the men yell.

“It escaped! Through the window!”

“I’ll catch it!”

“DON’T JUMP THROUGH THE WINDOW UVO!”

Illumi breathed out a laugh. What awful watchmen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fast edited 'cause i'm not at my home and am busy, i hope it's fine  
> the chapters left are approximate but yeah i hope to finish this relatively soon ♥ haaaaa i'm excited about it.......
> 
> follow me @spoiledfawn on tumblr for more updates and stuff


	5. Let's go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> no one respects authority anymore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i feel so bad i haven't been able to finish this yet  
> life is, so ugh  
> this isn't betaed and i don't have time to edit properly rn, so pardon any mistakes there might be  
> anyway, here's the start of some forest adventures

The following days, Illumi was restless.

If it showed, it didn’t really matter to them. There was no reason for the rest of the forest to suspect or inquire about Illumi’s sudden frequent walks near the limits of Hiddenwell. It was their duty. They rarely patrolled, but still, they were supposed to. No one could question it. No one could dare imply that it was because they were waiting for someone to appear. No one could, not even Anton. Especially Anton. That damned crow better kept its tiny beak shut if he knew what was good for him.

Illumi was indeed waiting for someone to appear, someone very specific, but the days passed and there were no news of stupidly brave grey-eyed men roaming the forest.

 _It’s understandable_ , Illumi thought. _I only cleaned his wounds. He must still be beaten up. He can’t show up right away. He still needs some rest…_

So they waited. And while they waited, they walked, and walked. And one day, a tiny fae, possibly the tiniest fae they had ever seen, flew to their side to inform them of a group of trespassers near the border with that big road.

And they ran.

They ran because it was their duty, of course, to stop whoever dared disturb their lands.

When they got there, rage filled Illumi’s chest.

It was not them; it was not Chrollo and his guards.

It should have felt good, taking into account they were lighting a fire to roast a beautiful deer they had just killed and that was as much as a death wish, but all Illumi could think was “ _this is not them!”_

The men opened their chapped mouths and the words that came out were as disgusting as their breath, and Illumi couldn’t bear standing there anymore, but was filled with too much rage to just silence them quickly and arguably painlessly.

No, they wanted screams, actually.

Without paying attention to the four men standing and walking towards them, Illumi whistled. It didn’t seem loud, but they were sure it was heard by the ones who were meant to. They waited for a while, and the men waited too. When no one seemed to appear, the hunters started laughing.

“Who’s gonna help you now?”

And Illumi looked at them with a satisfied smile on their face, and it was so unsettling the hunters shut up again.

Illumi raised both arms and announced very loudly, “Whoever gets here first is allowed to eat these four!”

The four men looked reasonably alarmed by then, but it was too late. There was rustling from all directions; shadows and silhouettes appearing and crawling and slithering towards them.

“I repeat!” Illumi exclaimed. “First come, first serve!”

 

After that, they returned to their normal routine.

Illumi went back to their home (the one at Hiddenwell, that was - It was a long time since they had last visited their real home, at their real realm) and lay there for a whole day. They just lay on their soft cushions, took naps, woke up to eat the remaining of their food stores, read, and went to sleep again. The next day, they spiced it up. Instead of lying on their bed, Illumi went out to lie like a dead cow on the mossy banks of the pond nearby.

One afternoon, while Illumi lay on their stomach by the water, a hand lazily submerged just enough for a group of tiny fish to bite at the tip of their fingers, a spirit arose from the pond. It looked like an oversized frog with a lotus leaf on their head. It looked slimy, very slimy. Illumi groaned internally and hoped it didn’t touch them, but didn’t move an inch to prevent it either.

The creature floated closer, and after a moment of silence, it finally spoke.

“Guardian, are you sulking?”

Illumi glared at the froggy creature through slits. What kind of disrespect was this? If Illumi weren’t so horribly tired, they would have strangled them.

So they just hummed noncommittally.

“Guardian, are you sad?”

Illumi frowned. Of course they weren’t. Why would they? They were just enjoying the midday sun by a quiet pond on a quiet forest on a quiet day, as quiet as almost every fucking day of their lives for- they didn’t remember how long anymore.

Many more lotus leaves floated to that side of the shore and rose to uncover more worried frog faces underneath.

“Are you alright? Are you alright? Are you alright?” they all seemed to croak.

Illumi was suddenly overwhelmed. They could not explode at so many worried spirits when they seemed truly concerned and not just gossiping.

They shifted to a sitting position, a still lazy sitting position, and lifted a palm to silence the spirits.

“I’m just bored,” Illumi finally said.

“Can we do something? Can we do something? Can we do something?”

Illumi shook their head. “I just need to be alone.”

Illumi Zoldyck, once royal messenger and spy, had become Guardian of Fae territory in the human realm. It was an honour. Their main duty was not simply “to protect the forest from trespassers”; it was to protect the forest from trespassers so the portal that connected both their worlds remained intact. It was one of the biggest on Earth, it was very important; Illumi’s job was very important.

Illumi’s job was very boring.

No one had warned Illumi how drastic the change of environment would be. Illumi never stopped to analyze how different life would be without the constant buzz and movement from the city back at home. Why would they? They didn’t consider themselves actively social. They didn’t have friends. They had no reason to miss the city.

Except that it ended up that they did. Illumi missed the action from their previous jobs, and it was slowly eroding their spirit, like water drops falling constantly over a rock.

And when they met Chrollo, Illumi felt a glimpse of hope. He was like a promise of exciting times. Chrollo looked like he didn’t belong in the forest, like he should have been a prince somewhere, yet he still carried himself like someone who had lived in the worst of slumps and survived. He was interesting, and different, and not terrible-looking, and he was not coming back.

Of course not. After all, it seemed he was a thief for profession. Thieves belonged in cities, not forests. What would they steal in a forest? A berry from the claws of a squirrel? Ridiculous. Chrollo was where he belonged, or half-road there, and wouldn’t come back. And it was fine, and Illumi had nothing to regret because they had still fulfilled their duty of keeping people away from Hiddenwell, even if it wasn’t with death.

They would be fine. Bored, but fine.

One day, it was not a spirit, but a bird that disrupted Illumi’s afternoon nap. At first, Illumi threw it a shoe so it would fly away. It only cawed in response, clearly offended.

Illumi lazily opened their eyes and saw a black blur. Then it cleared up to the shape of a medium-sized bird. A crow. _Ah_ , not just any crow; Anton the crow.

“What is it?”

It took only a stare at the beady eyes of the bird to understand. Illumi hurried more clothes on and went to the place where the ‘situation’ was happening.

With nothing else but a sharp knife, Chrollo was fighting alone against a young basilisk.

Illumi was two times surprised. Firstly because they had lost hope they’d see Chrollo again and secondly because basilisks were not supposed to be there. They had talked about it. Illumi had given a lengthy speech to all the creatures that were not supposed to get near the borders of Hiddenwell and yet here it was, this disobedient scaly chicken.

Tired of so much disrespect, Illumi stood in front of the beast, held each side of its jaw and pulled it apart. The noise the beast made was horrible. Yet still, in the middle of all the pain it had to be feeling, it turned on its heel and fled.

 _Good. If they don’t fear my orders, they will have to fear the consequences_.

Illumi turned around. For a moment, they had forgotten Chrollo was still there. Or not forgotten, they just didn’t truly believe it yet.

But there he was, and he was wide-eyed and so paralyzed Illumi feared he had gotten a taste of basilisk venom.

“You… tore its face apart,” Chrollo began, and Illumi was relieved to hear his voice, “with your bare hands.”

Not really. It was just the lower jaw. It was easy, with practice. But Illumi wasn’t sure they wanted to say this, not when Chrollo looked so… frightened? Was he frightened? Anyway, they just nodded in response.

Chrollo blinked multiple times, and then let himself fall on his butt on the ground. He was not frightened; unless smiling broadly was his way of showing fear.

“I’ve only seen one other person being capable of doing that, but he’s two times your size,” he laughed. “Maybe two and a half.”

So it was not fear, just surprise, happy surprise, _good_.

“I’m glad you’re so strong, though,” Chrollo continued. “I was having a difficult time; my arm is still not very well. I’m starting to fear it never will.”

He softly patted one of his shoulders; it had to be a result from the fall into the well.

“What are you doing here?” Illumi asked, and then had the boldness to add, “I told you not to come back,” as if it wasn’t exactly what they wanted.

“I know, but I figured you couldn’t really mean it.”

Chrollo started searching inside the bag he was carrying, and instead of adding more scolding remarks, Illumi went to his side and knelt next to him.

“What are you looking for?”

“Something.”

“What something?” Illumi continued asking while trying to peep into the bag.

“Well…” Chrollo grinned when he finally found a bundle in the bag. “I had promised you something, didn’t I?”

Illumi widened their eyes. Jewels, he had said something about jewels. Had he brought jewels? Was it shiny jewels?

“I promised you diamonds,” Chrollo said with a smile as he handed Illumi something covered in a cloth.

Illumi took it and undid the bundle. It was a brooch. It was a beautiful silver brooch with a cluster of small white diamonds and a big blue one right in the middle.

They looked back at the thief. “Are you sure I can keep this?”

“It’s for you. I got it for you.”

There was a moment of comfortable silence as Illumi continued to examine the brooch.

“I’m sorry it’s all I could bring.”

Illumi quickly shook their head. “It’s perfect”, they said. It really was. Unlike the tiara, this was something they could use anytime, no matter the place.

“But I wanted to bring more… I used to be able to get my hands on so much more… But, well, my arm…” Chrollo commented casually.

Illumi turned back to him, curious. “…Is it that bad?”

“I told you, if you hadn’t appeared, I’m not sure I would have been able to defeat that… whatever that thing was, without receiving a beating as well.”

So it was very bad. Illumi tried remembering if there was something in their world, some potion or spell, that could fix broken bones. They had no idea. They would have to ask Milluki again, and he would probably make questions, more questions, now that the petition was even more specific.

“But I’ll be fine,” Chrollo said rotating his shoulder. “I just need to get used to it.”

Illumi gave a last look to the brooch before putting it on their chest. While doing this, they realized the hem of their dress was torn. Again. Their dresses were so mended that the stitches were starting to look like abstract embroidery. They hid the torn fabric under their hands and looked back at Chrollo.

“…I could help you with that.”

His grey eyes shined brightly. “You could?”

Illumi nodded. “I can’t do it myself, I’m not a healer, but I know someone who can probably fix your lame arm.”

“Ah, and what would be the price?”

Illumi hummed. The healer they were thinking of was Sanbika, the only human allowed to live in the forest, a hermit who had devoted herself to the quest of medical knowledge in a cave in the middle of Hiddenwell.

She owed them for allowing her to hide there, and she feared them, for, well, being as they were. Sanbika wouldn’t dare put a price on Illumi’s petition.

“There’s no price.”

“…Forgive me for saying this, but that sounds very suspicious. Why would you offer me that when there’s nothing for you to gain?”

“Nothing for me to gain?” Illumi raised a brow. “If you’re going to become a regular visitor, I would like you to be in your best condition, so you could bring the best of gifts.”

Chrollo smiled. “You have a point. And who would this healer be?”

“A hermit. She lives deep in the woods. It would be a trip of many days.”

At this, Chrollo seemed to hesitate. “…And you’re sure she can heal my arm?”

“I wouldn’t lie to you. I have no reason to.”

Chrollo took a moment to deliberate, and Illumi just observed. He really did look like a prince, from some fallen faraway kingdom. What a dangerous feature for a thief, or for the people dealing with him, actually.

“…When would we part?”

 _Right now_ , Illumi thought but refrained from saying. They didn’t want to look like they had nothing to do even if, in fact, they had nothing to do.

“I have some business to attend to today, but if you come back tomorrow, I could guide you to her.”

If Chrollo’s smile could get any brighter, Illumi would have sworn he wasn’t human.

“We have a deal then.”

Illumi shifted so they were bracing their legs and could hide half their face behind their knees.

“Will you go now?”

“Do you want me to?”

Illumi stared at him. “…I don’t really want anything.”

“Then if you don’t mind, I would like to stay for a while.”

He was bright, so bright.

“I wouldn’t mind.”

 

As agreed, Chrollo came back the next day.

“No dress today? Why?”

Illumi looked down at their clothes: a knee-length tunic under a long woollen coat, loosely fitted pants and high boots.

“The road is tough and it gets cold at night.” And after a moment of realization, Illumi added, “Why?”

Chrollo shrugged. “You looked well.”

Illumi looked down at their clothes again.

“OH! Not saying that you don’t look well now, you do.”

“I just looked better before?”

“Yes. No! No, you look just as nice!”

“Let’s just go.”

After Chrollo got tired of trying to mend his previous comment, his company was quite comfortable. Conversation had never been Illumi’s favourite activity, but still, with him it felt easy. Illumi wondered about his background, but didn’t know how to ask. Chrollo looked so excited talking about the forest, about its inhabitants and about the difference with life at the tavern and Bronte, the city closest to it, that Illumi didn’t know how to ask without cutting the peaceful rhythm of the conversation. They didn’t even realize when it was time for a meal break. They didn’t even realize when it was time to stop and find a place to sleep.

“I would suggest that you slept on a tree.”

“What?”

“I would suggest that you slept on a tree,” Illumi repeated. “I may be a guardian but I’m no god. Animals don’t obey me. Damn, not even spirits obey me sometimes… What I’m trying to say is, if something attacks you while you’re alone and sleeping, you’re dead.”

“…Are you saying you won’t you stay with me?”

“Yeah, I’ll sleep somewhere else.”

“Oh… … … … But don’t you think it would be better if we lit a fire and stayed together?”

Illumi side-eyed him.

“The nights are cold, you said so yourself.”

Illumi side-eyed him harder. They were planning on sleeping at home. Chrollo may not be able to use fairy rings, but Illumi could, so why spend the night outside when they could be comfy and warm at their own place?

“If you’re so cold, I could get you a blanket.”

“Are you really abandoning me here? You left my arm as it is, you brought me into the woods, and now you abandon me?”

“Excuse me?? First of all, I never pushed you into that well.”

“Oh, ho no, don’t act so innocent, you know you guided me there.”

“But I never pushed you.”

“You know you would have anyway if I had avoided the well.”

He was right. Illumi took a deep sigh, the deepest of sighs, just to show Chrollo how fed up they were.

“…Alright. But _you_ will gather the lumber and _you_ will light the fire and _you_ will hunt our dinner.”

In the end, Illumi couldn’t stand Chrollo taking so much time doing the first tasks, so they went hunting instead. They ate fowl that night. They didn’t talk much after that. Chrollo fell asleep soon after. Illumi preferred to stay awake. They watched the fire dance until morning came.

That day, they managed to get to the river.

“If we follow the river, we will get there sooner.”

Illumi started walking along the riverside, but Chrollo stayed behind.

“Is there something wrong?”

“I was thinking… what if we build a boat?”

“What.”

“Why don’t we build a raft?” Chrollo pointed at the trees nearby. “I have a good knife and some rope. It should be doable.”

Illumi considered it. They were also carrying rope, and it _would_ indeed be a faster trip by water. But then again…

“Are you in any condition to build a raft?”

Chrollo kept silence, and Illumi sighed.

“It’s just going to be me doing all the work again, isn’t it?”

“We could ask for help… I think I saw enough creatures with hands capable of, well, giving us a hand.”

Indeed, but then again, Illumi had spent practically an entire afternoon warning the forest not to bother them during their trip. If they asked for help now, they wouldn’t get the spirits prying eyes out of them.

“I can’t do that. Don’t ask why, I just can’t do that.”

“Oh… Well, I can still help you, to a point. We’ll go slower, but we’ll manage.”

Illumi sighed once more, and got to work.

By the time their humble raft somehow looked like one, the sun was starting to set. They pushed it into the watercourse anyway. “If it gets dark, you can light the way with ghost fire,” Chrollo said.

It was easier said than done. If Chrollo had any experience navigating, it didn’t show at all, because when the sun went down, not even with the aid of the magical flames was he able to see the rapids ahead. The raft overturned. They made a big splash.

“You!” Illumi yelled when they managed to reach shore, just some meters away from where Chrollo had ended. “You!!!”

He was on his back, half his body still in the water, recovering his breath.

“That was so stupid!”

“I- I know.”Chrollo tried to contain himself, but he started to laugh.

“You!!! Stop laughing!”

But he only laughed harder, and his laughter was so contagious that for a moment, Illumi forgot the inconvenience of the situation and only could see the ridiculousness; how silly they must have looked, how silly they were now, all soaked and cold in the middle of nowhere.

“That was pretty stupid, wasn’t it?” Chrollo said once he managed to calm down.

Illumi went to his side and offered him a hand to stand up. “Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine, and you?”

“I’m fine too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter number says there's only 2 more left and i really intend to keep it so, so the next ones will be def longer  
> i'm exited about them  
> i am making this face >:3c


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